France recorded 5,764 more deaths than usual during a record-breaking heatwave last month, health authorities said on Wednesday, describing the excess mortality among people aged 15 and older as “unprecedented”.
It was the highest excess mortality rate during a heatwave in France since a devastating episode of high temperatures in 2003, when 15,000 people died, they added.
The extra deaths between June 17th and July 2nd this year were due to “all causes” — none yet clearly linked to the heat, Santé Public France said.
In comparison, the country reported 5,722 excess fatalities linked to high temperatures between June and mid-September last year.
Of the excess deaths last month, around two-thirds were people aged 75 or older, while less than a fifth were aged 45 to 64.
Half passed away in just three days from June 25th to 27th.
Worst affected was the greater Paris region, with Santé Publique France revealing that deaths doubled in Île de France during the heatwave.
“A very high excess mortality rate was observed in Île-de-France (between June 22nd and 28th) during the heatwave,” Santé Publique France said in a report recording 3,000 fatalities, “1,565 more deaths than expected”.
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France last month recorded its hottest June since records began in 1947 with a heatwave that saw temperatures spike above 40C in many places.
The average temperatures on June 24th and 25th, 2026, were the highest ever recorded in France, all months combined.